Research Interests

Biography

Dr. Wei-Ping Andrew Lee is a professor of orthopaedic surgery and plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He serves as director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and is the inaugural Milton T. Edgerton Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

A pioneer in hand transplants, Dr. Lee performed the nation’s first double-hand transplant in May 2009 and was among the first to perform a single hand transplant in the United States in March 2009. He also performed the nation’s first above-elbow transplant.

Dr. Lee received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he also completed his general surgery residency and microvascular research fellowship. He completed his plastic surgery fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and his orthopedic hand fellowship at the Indiana Hand Center. In 1993, he joined the plastic surgery faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and became the director of the Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory and chief of hand service in Department of Surgery. In 2002, Dr. Lee was appointed as the Division Chief of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He joined Johns Hopkins in 2010 as the inaugural chairman of its newly established Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Dr. Lee conducts investigation on tolerance strategy for vascularized composite allografts, such as hand or face transplants, to ameliorate the need for long-term systemic immunosuppression.

Dr. Lee has received more than 70 awards and honors, including the Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and Sumner Koch Award and Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. In 2014, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons honored him with the Research Achievement Award for basic research.

Dr. Lee served as the chair of the American Board of Plastic Surgery (2012-13) and the president of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (2011-12). In 2008, he helped to found the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation, for which he currently serves as the President-Elect. He was elected the chairman of Plastic Surgery Research Council in 2002 and president of the Robert H. Ivy Society of Plastic Surgeons in 2010-11.

Dr. Lee has mentored approximately 80 pre-doctoral and post-doctoral researchers in over two decades, and has authored more than 165 original publications in peer-reviewed journal and 40 textbook chapters on hand surgery and composite tissue transplant subjects. The book co-edited by him, Transplantation of Composite Tissue Allografts, was published in 2008. He has been an invited speaker or visiting professor in more than 40 institutions around the world, and served on the editorial boards of Transplantation and Journal of Surgical Research. In 2014, he co-founded the journal Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation, and serves as its co-Editor-in-Chief.

Certifications

Research Summary

Dr. Lee conducts investigation on tolerance strategy for vascularized composite allografts, such as hand or face transplants, to ameliorate the need for long-term systemic immunosuppression. In 2014, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons honored him with the Research Achievement Award for basic research.

Videos

Bilateral Arm Transplant Press Conference Introduction

In December 2012, a surgical team led by Johns Hopkins physicians performed The Johns Hopkins Hospital's first bilateral arm transplant on a 26-year-old U.S. soldier who lost all four limbs in the Iraq war. On January 29, 2013, a press conference was held to discuss the 13-hour procedure with the leading surgeons and the patient, Brendan Marrocco. Opening remarks were given by W.P. Andrew Lee, M.D. who is director of the Johns Hopkins Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the lead surgeon of the double arm transplant.

Bilateral Arm Transplant Press Conference Patient/Doctor Q&A

Johns Hopkins surgeons answers questions regarding the first bilateral arm transplant that was performed on a 26-year-old U.S. soldier who lost all four limbs in the Iraq war.

Bilateral Arm Transplant Press Conference Highlights

See highlights of the press conference regarding the first bilateral arm transplant on a 26-year-old U.S. soldier who lost all four limbs in the Iraq war.

Meet Our Expert: Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee

W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., is the director of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. His clinical practice focuses on upper extremity reconstruction, including vascularized composite allotransplantation, hand and arm transplantation, and surgery for common hand conditions.